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Pair of Kennedy Employees Chosen for NASA Inventors Hall of Fame

James Fesmire named to NASA Inventors Hall of Fame
James Fesmire founded the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He currently serves as senior principal investigator for cryogenics.
NASA/Kim Shiflett

By Jim Cawley
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

Two Kennedy Space Center employees are among four researchers inducted into the NASA Inventors Hall of Fame in 2020. The two men – Bob Youngquist and James Fesmire – both work in the Exploration Research and Technology (ER&T) programs directorate and combined have been at the Florida spaceport for nearly 70 years.

“The things Bob did for the space shuttle program are amazing. He has been here for many years solving really hard problems,” said Trent Smith, Kennedy’s technology transfer officer. “Likewise, James is determined; he never stops. He just keeps pushing because he knows there is a solution, and he’ll eventually find it.”

Previous recipients of the honor include Wernher von Braun, “father of German rocket science;” Maxime Faget, creator of the space capsule design; George Edward Alcorn, inventor of the x-ray spectrometer; and Kennedy’s Jackie Quinn, who invented a technology for groundwater remediation.

Bestowing the award is NASA’s Technology Transfer program, part of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, which ensures that innovations developed for space exploration and discovery are broadly available to the public. The program helps entrepreneurs use NASA inventions and discoveries to benefit the nation in the form of new products and services. 

 

Kennedy Space Center Scientist Bob Youngquist
Bob Youngquist earned Kennedy’s inaugural Scientist of the Year Award in 2009. Today, he is developing a state-of-the-art solar reflector, for which he received two patents.
NASA

To be considered for NASA’s Inventors Hall of Fame, candidates must be civil servants making significant contributions to our nation by inventing new technologies that solved difficult problems for NASA and also have had impact outside the space sector to spur economic growth, protect the planet, and even save lives.

“What’s remarkable about both Bob and James is their experience and knowledge of solving difficult problems,” Smith said. “Their efforts have the tangible effect of building solutions for the real world.”

Youngquist started at Kennedy as a contractor in 1988 and joined NASA in 1999. He established the center’s Applied Physics Laboratory in 1989 and currently serves as the laboratory’s lead. From 1988 to 2011, he resolved several critical space shuttle ground processing issues, including fire detection, leak location, flow measurement, and sensor development.

In 2009, Kennedy honored Youngquist with the center’s inaugural Scientist of the Year Award. Today, he is developing a state-of-the-art solar reflector, for which he received two patents. In total, he has 30 patents to his name.

Several years ago, Youngquist published a paper that developed the basic concept for evaluating the optics inside a CD player. A group of Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers determined his concept could be used to examine human eyes. That led to the development of optical coherence tomography, a procedure that studies the retina. Since its publication, Youngquist’s paper has been cited nearly 1,000 times.

“When you can impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and make their lives better through a technical development – in this case, an optical evaluation tool – that is an incredible feeling,” Youngquist said. “I have always been extremely proud of having come up with that breakthrough.”

Fesmire, who has more than 35 years of experience in cryogenics and founded the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at Kennedy, started at the Florida spaceport as a co-op student in 1983. The NASA employee currently serves as senior principal investigator for cryogenics and has earned 20 patents to date.

Fesmire developed cryostat instruments, which are in use by universities, institutions, and companies worldwide and play an important role in global development of future clean energy systems. According to Fesmire, “It’s all about problem solving with me.”

“Solutions are relatively easy, but coming up with the right problem to work on – that’s the harder part,” Fesmire said. “I’m just fortunate to have had this run with NASA for so many years where I had the space and the colleagues to help figure out a few things along the way.”

NASA awarded Fesmire medals for Distinguished Service, Exceptional Technology Achievement, and Exceptional Service. He also received an R&D 100 award and a Space Technology Hall of Fame medal for aerogel insulation technology.

Many other NASA inventors have made contributions that benefit people in public safety, health, and consumer goods people buy every day. NASA has profiled more than 2,000 spinoffs since 1976, which is one way the agency shows that there’s more space in your life than you think!